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Thursday, 27 June 2013

At the nick of time, two Indians saved from executioner's blade 48hrs to death time

Two Indian nationals, Suresh Shanmugasundaram and Kalidas
Chellaiyan got a reprieve after paying blood money to relatives of their
alleged murder victim just 48 hours before they

were to go under the executioner's
blade in Kuwait last week. The duo had been arrested along with Srilankan woman
in 2008 for the murder of another Lankan woman

The Indian Embassy
initially provided legal assistance by engaging a local lawyer to defend them
in the Court. However, despite their "best efforts", both
Shanmugasundaram and Chellaiyan were convicted by the Court of First Instance
on March 3, 2009. The court awarded death sentence to them.Subsequently, they
appealed against this verdict in the Court of Appeal which was also turned down
on April 24, 2009.Sources said that in spite of the relatives of both Indians
reaching an agreement to pay blood money, it was reliably learnt on April 14
that they were to be executed on the 18th.

"It was at this stage the Indian Mission in Kuwait
redoubled its efforts and sought the intervention of the minister of justice,
the minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and the minister of Amiri Diwan.

"These strenuous efforts seem to have resulted in
suspension of the execution sentence on June 16, just 48 hours prior to the
execution," sources said.

The Indian mission is now talking to the local authorities
for the commuting of their sentence to a lower degree. Both the Indian
nationals are currently lodged at the central prison in Kuwait.